I let go my resistance to life’s natural rhythms and allow myself to be carried through change and growth.

I surrender my need to control every outcome and circumstance and allow life to unfold naturally.

I surrender to faith.

I live with trust.

I let go.

Surrendering is not giving in or giving up, it is letting life unfold in its mysterious unbridled way, accepting that some things simply can’t be controlled. When we surrender to life, we let go of our resistance – which pushes against the natural flow of things – and allow ourselves to become a part of the harmonious rhythm of the universe. When we surrender, we throw our oars in the river and let the current carry us, acknowledging that sometimes we truly do not know what is best, but having faith that something greater than us does. Surrendering is accepting the unacceptable, when there is no other choice. Surrendering is accepting the inevitable as part of life’s journey, even if we don’t really want to. Observe a leaf floating downstream, a hawk gliding on an air current, or a child going down a slide, and you are observing surrender. Let’s know when to be the leaf, the hawk, the child, and let life carry us for a while.

A perfect NOW moment is a point that lies between two experiences. It’s found in the space between the totally unremarkable and the completely memorable… the holding on and the letting go…what was and what will be. Aliveness occurs everywhere; living is in the NOW.

No one can know with any certainty what tomorrow will bring. The best anyone can do is count on it arriving, and even that is not guaranteed. When such uncertainty presents itself, we have two ways in which to respond- we can engage our rational minds and plan for, or worry about, outcomes, or we can let go and be accepting of the unknown. In a world where ‘taking control’ and ‘being in charge’ are held in esteem, it can be hard to accept the I-don’t-know factor that is an innate part of life’s journey. Choosing and acting upon our choices is necessary, but so is allowing things to unfold in their most natural, resistance-free way.

The mysteries of life were once held sacred, revered as those conditions where everything-and-nothing resides, where the Divine resides. It would serve humanity well to again embrace the mystery of not-knowing as a sacred trust placed in the heart of the Divine. When we surrender our need-to-know and need-to-control, we allow ourselves a rare chance to breathe, with minds free and hearts wide open. In such a state, hope blooms and is watered by faith, and we experience the natural (not forced) rhythms of life as they move thru us. When we surrender to the mystery we find serenity and ease.

Catch yourself today when you have controlling, need-to-know thoughts, and immediately release them. As you do, feel the pressure leave your body. Feel your head lighten, your shoulders drop, and your stomach relax. Allow your grasp to be freed as you give those reins to the Universe to hold.

Imagine you are driving from Los Angeles to New York. To prepare for the trip you will probably want to clean out the car. You’ll make sure the trunk and back seat area have plenty of room for your luggage and anything you might collect along the way. But what if the car is crammed full of stuff before you ever leave L.A? You won’t have much room for anything new you might discover on your journey. Well the journey through life is a lot like that journey across the United States. You have to know when you’re overloaded with what you don’t need anymore, and let it go, in order to collect new experiences. I’m talking about things like attachments to the past-old wounds, regrets and blame-and present attachments that are unproductive or unhealthy. Sometimes a dream needs to die in order to make way for a new one. Sometimes a hope must be let go of in order to realize something better. Sometimes a relationship must be left in order to know a healthier or more meaningful experience. Very often the losses we need to experience in order to know growth are not by our choice, but are thrust upon us. A loss, however it is disguised, and by whatever means it arrives, is a signal for growth. It is the removal of something you’ve held on to, in order that you might experience something else. Letting go and loss are rarely experienced easily, but when resisted, the difficulty is only intensified and prolonged. Surrender to loss, and let go of what is no longer useful, and you create space in your experience for new, unimagined opportunities for expansion, joy, and well-being.

I keep my heart open so that I can share my spark of the Divine with the world.

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My intention for today is to remember that I am not separate from my Source (God/HigherSelf/Love/Light). I do not have to open myself up in order to “let God in”. God is ALREADY in. I must open myself up in order to let God OUT. And when I do, I allow God to love thru my heart all those I meet… Including the one I meet in the mirror.

A life is like a tapestry, woven of many experiences, each creating a part of the whole. Some are vibrant, some are dull, some are of fine silk, others scratchy wool. And some create the effect of a hole in our fabric. From loss, heartache, missed opportunities, accidents or maybe just from neglect, they leave a painful reminder that make the whole feel forever vulnerable and able to unravel with just the wrong tug. I don’t want holes in my life’s tapestry; I want a well lived but well united weave. I will find those holes, one at a time and fill them. I will fill them with love, a love that will replace the anger, pain, sorrow, blame or guilt that have kept them gaping. Pains are part of the experience of living, they create some of the most beautiful and shocking changes in texture and pattern but when left as unfinished gaps in the whole, they leave part of me unsecure and that does not serve me. Every experience has had its place, however hard. Every experience has had its time, however long. And every experience also has its need to be healed, repaired, filled with love, and made part of the entirety.

As my brain throws out reasons for me to feel threatened or afraid based on something I experienced in the past, I will pause and ask myself, “Is there a real threat here now or is this a learned response?” I intend to be sincere with myself and admit if my response is simply an emotional habit. If it is, I’ll recognize it and let it go. If I don’t, I may turn some wonderful opportunities into problems they aren’t.

None of us can know with any certainty what tomorrow may bring. The best we can do is count on it arriving and then let ourselves be accepting of the unknown. In a world where ‘taking control’ and ‘being in charge’ are held in esteem, it can be hard to accept the I-don’t-know factor that is innate to life. Choosing and acting upon our choices is necessary but so is allowing things to unfold in their most natural, resistant free way. The mysteries of life were once held sacred, revered as those conditions where everything and nothing resides, where the Divine resides. It would serve humanity well to again embrace the mystery of not-knowing as a sacred trust placed in the heart of God. When we surrender that need to know and the need to control, we allow ourselves a rare chance to breathe, minds free, hearts open. We can experience the natural rhythms of life as they move thru us. When we surrender to the mystery we find serenity, comfort, and ease. Today I will catch myself having controlling, need-to-know thoughts and immediately release them. I will feel the pressure leave me, as my head lightens, my shoulders drop and my stomach relaxes. I will allow my grasp to be freed and give (at least one) of those reins to the Universe to hold.

I make mistakes, learn from them and move on with responsibility and grace.

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I think everyone can look back on a time when they believe they could have made a better choice. How often people say, “If I had it to do over again…” But even if we could go back and have a do-over, we would always make the same choices (unless we could take our current awareness back with us, and we can’t). Decisions are based on all that’s available in the moment they’re made: our hopes, our fears, the world and people around us, everything that led up to that moment and everything we think in that moment about our future…. The only way any choice made could ever be made differently is if the circumstances that went into that decision were also different. We’d have to go back to our very first breath. So what to do then with all those woulda’, coulda’, shoulda’ thoughts? The only thing anyone can do is take the past and embrace it as a learning experience. Be appropriately sorry perhaps, but see it as an experience that is a part of the learning to be and become better than who we were yesterday. Today I embrace one of my so-called regrets and let it go, knowing things could not, as the universe was set up at that time, have been any different. I give thanks for the opportunity to learn from hindsight and determine to use my experience to make better choices in the future. I take responsibility for my past choices but regret only cripples. Today I let it go.